Ambition Notes
Yo, peeps! I forgot to say it last time before I edited it in, so I'll say it now: VGS2 made our beloved Ringue!
Thanks for reviewing: Crunchyy24!
"Just go home," sighed the suited cinderace. His arms were crossed as he looked down upon Peppy. "It's over."
The fennekin trembled as she stared back, her lip quivering. She averted her gaze as the taller rabbit's eyes narrowed.
"B-but I was only an hour late! I got my stuff stolen by those pidgey! Surely you can make an exception..."
"Frankly, I care not for your trivial excuses. Time and time again, you have proven unprofessional. We set a simple catering order, yet time and time again without fail, you have some quaint excuse about how a wild pokémon attacked you." The cinderace sighed, pinching his forehead. "Just... Go, Peppy. You've ruined everything."
Peppy sniffled, sitting down on the ground.
"It's n-not my fault!" she choked. "I couldn't f-fend them o-off!"
Shaking his head, the cinderace turned away.
"I don't want to hear it. Even if you're telling the truth, it's not my problem that you're still too weak to fend off a couple pidgey."
"Please!" wailed Peppy. "I'm sorry! I'm so so sorry!" She profusely sobbed into her paws, kicking at the ground.
"Honestly, Peppy, you're lucky it's just the review that we're publishing. If I were a lesser man, I'd be sure to include a blurb about this little groveling session you're having. You're no longer worthy of our business."
The fennekin didn't bother to look up as a jingling pouch landed next to her, with the door slamming shut a moment later.
For eight long minutes, Peppy wallowed on the concrete doorstep. A reactive mixture of despair, fear, and rage built up in her system.
Teeth chattering, teeth bared, teary-eyed, the fennekin slowly raised her head. She eyed the hefty bag of poké that'd been dropped before her with a bubbling hatred. Her payment.
With a deep breath, Peppy hatefully released a hot ember onto the pouch. To her dismay, however, the power of the attack was only enough to singe its surface. With a frustrated yell, she abruptly kicked the coin-pouch off from the porch, sending it into the nearby river.
Peppy's head hung dejectedly as she began her slow trudge back up the dirt path. The cold winds stung at her raw eyes, as the overcast sky sat heavy upon her soul.
Snute shifted uncomfortably beneath the layers of gauze wrapped around her injuries. She sat with her binder open on her bed, sifting through various papers, folders, and other such mediums of data storage.
"Let's see..." muttered the fox. She flipped to an empty folder, before reaching a paw into her bag. She haphazardly slid a few sheets of lined paper into the new file. She slapped a sticky note onto the front cover of the folder, labeling it "Guild Notes".
She spent a few moments jotting down information on what she'd seen of the HQ and how it operated so far. Layouts, room functions, people, beliefs, etc. Once satisfied, she laid down her pen, looking up.
Her cubicle was dim. Dimmer than usual, due to only one of the room's main lights being on. With a long stretch, the ninetales stood, nosing out from her garish pink curtain and into the main floor-space.
She took a moment to mull over her thoughts.
"With the glameow gone, I can peek about freely... Just need to be a mite careful."
With a sigh, the ninetales wandered over to the opposing corner of the room. She eyed up the wall, taking in the sights.
She found herself dissatisfied by the shelves attached to it. They took sharp, ninety degree turns in every direction at seemingly random intervals, leaving an almost maze-like structure.
"Ugh..." the ninetales shivered. "I'll never get behind this putrid modern architecture."
Leaning closer, Snute scrutinized the contents of the shelf.
A few dice, a skitty bank, some random crystal...
"All rubbish," Snute muttered, shaking her head. She did, however, catch a glimpse of a stack of books out of the corner of her eye. She turned to eye their spines.
"'Mystery Dungeons for Dummies', 'Fifty-Nine Ramen Recipes you NEED in your Life', 'One in a Million'..." She hummed in thought. That last one especially sounded interesting, she decided, opting to check it out later. Her focus found itself drawn to one last book, however.
"Hm... No title." With a shrug, the ninetales pulled it out from the bottom of the stack, taking a glance at its cover.
A grainy photograph of a ninetales stared back at her with a bright smile. Despite its grayscale nature, Snute could tell by some subtle differences in body shape that it was of the fire-typing. It seemed almost familiar, somehow.
She brought the book back over into her enclosure, sitting it onto her bed. It appeared to be held shut with a padlock.
Rolling her eyes, Snute fished her tension wrench and a pick from her bag. It took about two minutes of tedious work to get the lock open.
"Some kind of diary...?" muttered the ninetales. "Well, let's see what you've got for me." She flipped to the first page.
adventer log 1! me and my frends r going 2 strt r rescue team in 1 year! im so exited!
Not even bothering to finish the first page, Snute's snout wrinkled in disgust. She flipped forward through a hefty chunk of the book for anything more readable.
Adventure Log #792
We have finally arrived within the big city! Oh, my, I am simply thrilled!
"Booooriiiiing."
Adventuring Log: 1209! I Evolved!
Oh, if my sister could see me now, she'd be so proud!
"Next."
Team Perseverance Adventuring Log: Part 2933! The Return of the Mysterious Portal!
Snute blinked, humming thoughtfully.
"Finally, something of interest."
The mysterious portal returned last night! The very same one I came from! Or, at least, it sounds like it! Admittedly, I was not there to see it, but it sure sounded the same from the reports! The same incomprehensible flashing lights in the sky, the same subtle whine audible for kilometers... It even coincided with a resurgence of new mystery dungeons!
Oh, boy! Maybe we're a step closer to getting me home! Reports even say a pokémon came out of it!
The rest of the team are out on business right now, but Aundei said we could go take a look together, just the two of us! I'm so excited!
Alena, out!
Snute's eyes widened.
"A mysterious portal, huh? Seems like something I'll need to look into."
She briefly considered skimming through more of the journal, but she deemed its unorganized nature would make it take too long for the limited time she had.
"Maybe later." Snute carefully walked back over to the shelf, sliding the book back into its place beneath the stack. "Hmm... Maybe there's more information in the library." With a shrug, Snute opened the door, walking out of the room.
As the door clicked shut, a simisage dropped down from the space left by Snute's removed drop-ceiling tile.
He crossed his arms as he stared at the door.
"The sheer disrespect. Breaking into a dead pokémon's journal like that?" He shook his head with a sigh. "I guess I'm no better for snooping, but..." A frown tugged at the grass-type's lips. "That ninetales is definitely suspect. I was right to keep an eye on her."
Aundei gave a yelp as a large, orange paw grazed his tummy, just barely missing as the cat leapt clear of the strike.
The arcanine barked out a hearty laugh, bringing his paw down to ruffle the glameow's head.
"You're slackin', little buddy!" Lodiyo chuckled. "Come on, bro. What's on your mind?"
The glameow gave an uncertain grunt, shooting a pressurized spray of water toward his opponent. The arcanine rolled deftly out of the way, leading the water to spray against a wall and rain down upon a plusle and minun duo below.
The two rodents gave surprised shrieks in unison, before doubling over into giggles.
Aundei briefly felt his heart rate spike, before calming in relief.
Lodiyo gave a small smirk, laughing once more.
"Good shot! Ain't tell me what's the matter, though."
Aundei sighed, his posture drooping. It tensed back up again as a fireball shot toward his face. He leapt up quickly, somersaulting toward the arcanine before springing his tail into the fire-type's jaw.
"I dunno, Jolly... It's just... I think Silly might be a little mean."
Lodiyo paused for a moment of thought. He swatted a paw at the glameow, which was dodged quite easily.
"You're just now noticin'?"
The glameow flinched hesitantly. He promptly received a blast of fire to the face. After hopping back onto his paws and brushing the soot from his fur, he shot a large blast of water into the air, wettening the environment around them.
"I thought, you know, maybe she was just a bit of a grump!" Aundei explained. He leapt over an oncoming ball of light, then bounding over toward Lodiyo.
"Maybe you should have waited to pick a better partner." The arcanine raised his paws, empowered with aura to counter the glameow's own shadowy hooks. After being knocked back a bit, Lodiyo felt his already soaked body become seized with a bolt of electricity. "No disrespect to Ms. Badonkadonk or nothin', but she don't seem like a good fit for ya'."
Aundei received a kick in the face, sending him flying through the air. A murkrow flew out of the way with a squawk of alarm.
"I just... She reminds me so much of Alena, you know? I got a bit desperate, I guess..."
Lodiyo smiled warmly, approaching the glameow. An absol and meowth briefly caught his eye, running by with some sort of bucket, but that quickly left his focus.
"Hey, I'm sure it'll all work out, aye? You were able to change Inu for the better, after all! And all that."
Aundei accepted the offered paw, helped back onto his feet.
"...Maybe."
Snute's eyes scanned up and down the shelves as she carefully balanced atop the ladder.
"HEY!"
The ninetales gasped in alarm, stumbling backwards. She clung to the ladder as it tipped over, smacking her into the floor with a hollow thud. Several books came piling down atop her.
With a dazed growl, the ninetales' head popped out from beneath the book pile. Her eyes snapped to the shinx who'd shouted at her, fixating the small cat with a glare.
"What?!" barked Snute.
The shinx adjusted his glasses with a smile.
"Oh! Mein apologies, voman of immense glutamate! Did not mean to startle you! Zis ist quite embarrassing." The shinx smiled, offering a paw.
Snute promptly ignored the gesture, simply standing up. She gritted her teeth in agitation as she began the arduous process of putting the books back into their places. Much to her annoyance, the shinx set to work assisting her.
"What do you want, shinx?"
The shinx grinned widely, giving a polite bow.
"Mein name ist Doctor Lustig Von-Katzenvurst! You can call me doctor!"
Snute's brows furrowed.
"T's a bit shit."
"NEIN!" Lustig shouted, cheeks puffing in anger. Before he could continue, Snute cut him off.
"Yeah, yeah, wha'eva', mate. For real, what do you want?"
The shinx resumed his smile once more, resuming the placement of books onto a shelf.
"I couldn't help but notice, you're new around here, ja?"
Snute gave a sigh, closing her eyes. After internally counting to ten, she responded.
"Yes."
Enthusiastically, the shinx grabbed one of Snute's paws, shaking it vigorously. The ninetales promptly flung him across the aisle and into another shelf, knocking a few more books over. Lustig stood once more, still smiling.
"So! Vhat ist your name?"
"Snute."
"Great, great! Vhat do you do?"
"Explore."
"Interezting! I study robotics!"
"Uh-huh." Snute paused, giving a small hum. Perhaps such a thing could be useful. "Tell me more."
Eyes sparkling, the shinx seems to shimmer with sparks.
"Oh, oh! It ist going quite vell, you see! I am very close to cracking ze code of artificial consciousness! I shall be demonstrating after ze next take-off, ja!"
Snute blinked, tilting her head confusedly.
"Take-off?"
Lustig frowned, tilting his head.
"Vhat? Did you think ze aircraft design vas just for show? Ve are taking off later tonight, ja!"
"Hm... I didn't think about that."
"Ahaha!" Lustig laughed. "I see your skull ist as thick as your rump!"
Snute rolled her eyes with a shake of her head.
"Oh, piss off." Setting the final book in place, Snute turned to leave with a sigh. She was stopped by a shrill cry.
"VAIT! SHNÜT!"
Grimacing, Snute turned her head back.
"What now?"
Lustig took on a more smug grin, adjusting his glasses as he spoke.
"I do appreciate ze special interest you took in mein research, and I vould like to zank you! As vone of ze inventors of zat APER Gear you have zere, I could perhaps interest you in a special addon, ja? Come back to my lab and I'll make it vorth your vhile!"
Snute held back a grin. The prospect did, in fact, entice her.
"Hm... Sure, why not?"
"Great! Come!"
As the shinx took off running, Snute let out a sigh. She followed him toward the library's exit. As she left into the hallway, she found herself briefly confused by the sight of Inu and Yuku stacking a bucket atop the janitor closet's door.
"...And zen ze inter-corporeal capacitor fluctuates ze oblong polarity of ze main magnetic chromosphere to reverse-populate ze synthetic-anatomical function viz pinpoint accuracy!"
Snute blinked as the shinx concluded his lecture. Her eyes narrowed, before she shook her head.
"Every word that just left your mouth was utter bollocks, shinx."
"Bollocks?!" Lustig scoffed. "Your brain is simply too small to comprehend my genius!"
The ninetales held a flat stare while Lustig continued to boast.
"You've quite literally just strung together a bunch of complex words in a nonsensical order under the assumption that my lack of understanding would make me view you as more intelligent."
Lustig narrowed his eyes, puffing his cheeks.
"Do you vant zis addon, or not?!"
Snute sighed, putting a paw to her forehead.
"Yeah, sure."
"Great!"
As the shinx scampered off toward the other side of the room, Snute took the opportunity to look around. Lustig's "lab" was completely black in color, with a central white light in the ceiling providing most of the room's illumination.
Many papers, folders, and various stray pieces of tech were strewn about the room.
Lustig returned a moment later with a strange rectangular object. He deposited it in front of Snute. Skeptically, the ninetales lifted it up, looking it over. It appeared to equal her APER gear approximately in width, and was about as long. It had some sort of tapered nozzle at the end, and in its center was an empty space of sorts. Finally, on the opposing end to the nozzle, two plugs jotted out.
Snute gave a hum.
"So, what does it do, shinx?"
"Elementary!" Lustig chirped. "It can replicate nearly any attack!"
Snute raised an eyebrow, looking up.
"Really?"
"Ja! You know about ze aura gems? Simply deposit one into ze slot, and bam. But! You vill have to program ze specifics of the attack yourself! Read about zat in ze included E-manual."
Snute carefully plugged the device into the front of her APER Gear. Sure enough, a new icon appeared on her toolbar.
"...Neat. And, you said it was a 'special' addon. Why's that?"
"Vell vell, now zere ist a good question!" Lustig smiled. "You see, zis little device isn't available to ze public yet. Only a select few individuals have it! Ze guildmaster, Yuja, Tab, Taffy... All zose important peoples! And, of course, zose rich enough to buy a prototype."
"So, why me, then? It can't just be my interest in your field."
Lustig smirked. It admittedly irked Snute.
"I figured zat it'd be good to test more in ze public, ja? Vith you being a new explorer, and a seemingly competent one at zat, I figured you'd be perfect to test its effectiveness! A bit of I scratch your back, you scratch mine, ja?"
Snute thought it over, before nodding slowly.
"That makes sense."
Lustig soon leaned forward into Snute's face, giving a suggestive quirk of his brows. "And, of course, you are of immense beauty! I saw your little charade with tripping ze glameow earlier! Simply brilliant! I could not let such divine appearance and supreme intellect go unappreciated!"
Snute recoiled just a bit, snout wrinkling. She gave a short groan, puffing out her pink-tinted cheeks as she looked away.
"Uh... Uhm... W-whatever you say." Snute bared her fangs as the shinx gripped her paw, then growling as he placed a kiss on the top. She only refrained from pulling away to not sabotage the business relationship, she told herself, and she internally insisted that the incessant wagging of her tails was merely inconveniently timed wind. As the shinx stepped away with a cheeky grin, Snute recomposed herself quickly, clearing her throat. "Is that all, d-doctor?"
Lustig nodded, turning and casually waving a paw.
"Ja. Dismissed!"
With a huff, the ninetales departed the room.
"So... They just stood there? They menaced you until you ran away? No attacks or anything?" Yuja worked to make her voice sound more incredulous as she spoke.
Amethyst nodded, looking away.
"It was... Scary. But, no, they didn't come after us or anything." The espeon looked out the window, focusing on the overcast sky over the treeline.
The smeargle nodded, jotting down notes onto her pad.
"And you said that you and Taffy had a fight earlier that morning?"
The espeon quirked an eyebrow, nodding.
"Mh... Yeah. Kinda an intense one. I still have to apologize..."
"And, you two split up. You headed over to the dungeon, she went on her walk."
Amethyst nodded once more.
"That's right."
"I see... Th-"
The two jolted upright in surprise as the door abruptly slammed open. They turned in unison to see a very unamused absol standing there.
Amethyst was the first to speak.
"K-Kysen! Is everything okay?!"
Yuja closed her book with a "thwap", then sitting it onto the table.
"We are in the middle of a very important discussion, Mr. Woods," the smeargle sighed.
Kysen gave a polite nod.
"Forgive me. Have you seen my daughter? Or her friends?"
Amethyst shook her head, before letting it tilt to the side.
"Can't say I have, personally. They okay?"
The absol snorted.
"Oh, I'm sure they're more than okay." He turned to the side, showcasing that his back and sides have been entirely splotched green.
Amethyst winced with a sympathetic hiss, whilst Yuja just rolled her eyes.
"Another prank?" the espeon asked, worry evident in her tone. "They've been really targeting you with those, lately..."
"Tell me about it," Kysen sighed. "Let me know if you see them." He turned to address Yuja. "You probably won't be pleased to know that the bucket which fell on me just so happened to match that expensive stuff you imported pretty closely."
The smeargle's eye twitched, causing Amethyst to step back.
"Listen here, janitor," the smeargle started, getting up from her chair. She marched right up to Kysen, getting right into his face. "If your brat wasted my paint, we are going to have a serious problem."
"Relax," Kysen sighed. "I'll pay for it. I'd blame that meowth first and foremost, though."
Ringue inhaled with a shrill gasp, paws moving to cover her mouth.
"Th-the lights are off!" cried the slurpuff, panic slowly growing. She began to pace back and forth in front of the pizza establishment.
"Now, now," the ekans next to her soothed. "I am confident that it is not as bad as it seems."
With a deep breath, Ringue stood straight, puffing up confidently.
"Right! I'm gonna walk in there, see what's wrong, and we'll fix it up nice and good!" The marched on forward with renewed vigor, the ekans slithering through the grass to keep pace. They pushed through the glass doors, ignoring the closed sign.
As the door chime rang out, Peppy removed her face from the counter. She raised a paw to wipe the tears from her puffy eyes, forcing on a smile.
"O-oh! Ringue, Zowt! How's it going, you two?"
Zowt shivered lightly as the cold checkerboarded tile met his scales, but he shook off the discomfort to continue forward.
Ringue hopped up onto the counter to meet Peppy face to face.
"Why are you closing up early?!" Ringue demanded, grabbing the fennekin by the shoulders and shaking her vigorously. "Was it that mean review?!"
Peppy groaned as she was shaken, growing dizzy from the force, until the movement slowed to a stop. One final shake was given for good measure before she was released.
With a grunt and a snort, Peppy shook the cloudiness out of her head. She looked down to the counter with a sigh.
"You're right on the money, Ring'," Peppy admitted. She pouted as she spoke. "I haven't had a single customer all day! That never happens! My business is surely gone for good, and it's all because I'm weak!"
Ringue gasped, shaking her head.
"No, you're not weak!" She resumed shaking Peppy, but more lightly.
The fennekin sighed.
"I lost to a few pidgey. If I can't make a simple transport like that, what business do I have running this place?"
"There were, like, eight of them, I heard!" Ringue exclaimed. "Being overwhelmed by eight other pokémon doesn't make you weak!"
"I dunno, Ringue," Zowt chimed in. "I think she's pretty weak."
Peppy slammed her face into the table with a whine. Ringue shot the ekans a glare.
"Zowt!"
"No, no, hear me out," the ekans insisted.
The slurpuff grumbled.
"You'd better have a good explanation for this!"
Nodding, Zowt continued.
"Sure, Peppy, you're weak, but that's nothing to be ashamed of. You can't be expected to be able to fend off so many pokémon without proper training. Plenty of individuals operate successful businesses with no battle skill."
Catching on, Ringue nodded vigorously.
"Oh, that's right! Maybe don't fret about not being very strong when you don't actually need to be! It's not like you're an explorer, like us, or something!"
Peppy sniffled, but paused. She looked up. Her maw briefly hung open, before shutting again.
"So, what you're saying is..."
Ringue and Zowt smiled.
"Go on," the former encouraged.
Peppy grinned brightly.
"...I need to become an explorer! You two are geniuses!"
The two froze up in shock.
"That's not-" Ringue started, before she and Zowt found themselves in Peppy's tight embrace.
"It's the perfect idea! Not only will I get stronger, but I'll be able to spread my business to new locations around the world! Oh, you're the best, guys!" The fennekin's eyes watered with joy. She abruptly hopped up, running toward the door. "Thank you all so much! Next you see me, we'll be guildmates!"
As the door chime rang, Zowt and Ringue looked to eachother. The slurpuff soon averted her gaze, nervously kicking at the counter beneath her.
"What... Just happened?"
The ekans sighed in response, lowering his head.
"Let us pray for this not to end poorly."
"Agreed."
Snute tapped her paw impatiently as she stood at the food service counter with Aundei. He'd been striking up conversation with Yei and some others for the past several minutes.
The bibarel, like clockwork, carefully scooped the sloppy-joe meat onto the buns, before setting them onto the explorers' plates.
"So, like, that's when I-" an amaura spoke, before suddenly halting her sentence, before exclaiming. "Dude!"
"What?" a blitzle next to her inquired, confusedly tilting his head.
"That," the amaura spat, voice laced with disgust. The blitzle, Yei, Aundei, an emolga, and a nearby rattata each turned to follow the amaura's pointing limb.
Snute remained oblivious to the stares, Snute finished layering the slice of cheddar cheese onto her sloppy joe. She did, however, notice an audible gasp as she reached toward the sour cream container. Raising an eyebrow, the ninetales turned to see three of the five pokémon giving her incredulous stares. Only Yei and Aundei seemed not to be silently judging her.
"What?" Snute grumbled, bouncing in place impatiently.
"Th-that!" the emolga chimed in, pointing toward the sour cream.
Snute's brows furrowed as she looked down toward the container, then back up.
"What about it?"
"You don't put that on sloppy joes!" The blitzle exclaimed, rolling his eyes as if it were obvious.
The ninetales shook her head.
"Why not?" she sighed as she spooned the cream onto her sandwich. The three pokémon shivered in visible disgust.
"It's weird!" the amaura whined.
Snute shook her head, returning to her meal preparation. Cries of outrage filled her ears, sourced from her critics as she reached for the mustard.
Aundei, looking back and forth between the group, then Yei, then Snute, gave a small shrug. With a smile, he decided to give Snute's idea a try.
The amaura gasped, visibly offended.
"Aundei! Not you, too?!"
"I think I'm gonna barf..." whined the blitzle.
"He's letting the mean lady brainwash him!" squealed the emolga.
Yei gave a polite wave to the two as they departed.
"Have a good one, you two!"
"And you, as well, Bouncy!"
Before long, Snute found herself seated with Aundei at what had become a familiar setting. The table in the back-left corner of the room.
That night, the list of table occupants shared only one name that she'd previously sat with. Ooka gave a hearty wave to the two, which Aundei returned. Next to her was Inu, as well as some random sliggoo. The meowth gave the pair a bright smile, but the sliggoo remained oblivious.
"Hi, everyone!" Aundei greeted as he sat down.
The sliggoo seemed startled, then turning its head in the glameow's general direction with a smile.
"Oh! Aundei! Hi!" They leaned across the table, which Aundei met with a small nuzzle. The snail gave a pleased trill at the contact.
Snute shivered in mild disgust as her smiling teammate wiped a bit of mucus off from his nose.
"Why are you two getting so touchy-feely?" Snute groaned.
The sliggoo jolted in surprise, quickly pointing toward the ninetales.
"Goodness! How many of you are there?!"
Aundei gave a small chuckle.
"Well, you see, Silly, with sliggoo being blind and all, they tend to appreciate physical contact! They find it comforting and stuff!"
Inu smirked.
"Snute just finds it surprising because she's never been touched by anyone."
The ninetales glared as Ooka burst out into a fit of laughter, face-planting into the table. Rolling her eyes, Snute picked up her meal and began to eat.
"So!" Aundei started with a beam. "Silly, this is Gooey! Gooey, meet Silly!"
The sliggoo turned back in Snute's direction, bouncing excitedly.
"Hiya! My name's Kasey!"
Snute continued to eat in silence.
Ooka gave a small chuckle, pulling Kasey into a sidelong hug. This elicited a smile and a squeel.
"Well well, Kasey, that, there, is Snute! She's our newest recruit! A bit of a grump, maybe even more than Shio!"
"Make that second-newest!" a voice called out.
The table turned with surprise. Kasey shivered, frowning.
"Gosh! They just keep coming!" complained the sliggoo.
Aundei's focus settled on a fennekin standing before him, visibly quivering but with a confident leer. The glameow gave a friendly smile.
"Oh, Chef!" he greeted. "What are you doing all the way this deep in the guild?"
Snute's eyes narrowed. She was wondering the same thing.
With a deep, shuddering breath, Peppy closed her eyes. There was no going back. She spoke loudly and with conviction.
"Aundei El'Poau! I would like to join your exploration team!" As she opened her eyes and noticed the shocked expressions, Peppy's confidence faltered. "I-if you don't mind..."
Aundei shook off his bewilderment, giving a bright grin.
"Why, of course! It would be an honor!" he bowed his head. "But, why? Don't you have your business to run?"
Peppy lowered her head, ears flattening. She nervously pawed at the ground.
"W-well... It ain't doing so hot after the bad review I got, and... I'm sick of being weak! Being stepped all over!" She stood tall, puffing out her chest. "This guild has helped me many times, whether through patronage or helping with my problems. And, you, Aundei, have always seemed particularly noble, helping all those in need! You've gotten me out of so many binds, and today was no exception! You and your team have always been good friends of mine, too! S-so that's why I want to join you!"
Aundei smiled, hugging Peppy close. The fennekin wept into his chest, shaking with pent up emotion.
"Well well, we'd be happy to have you, Chef!"
Ooka gave a warm smile.
"Now, ain't that just the sweetest thing?"
Kasey cheered.
"Woohoo! More heroes for us!"
Inu smirked.
"Congrats, Pep'. 'bout time you stepped out of baby shoes."
Snute's eyes narrowed as she observed the scene. She mentally monologued to herself.
"Great. The glameow is good enough at his job, but now I'm going to have a rubbish fighter to weigh me down? I swear, deciding to join this guild probably sealed my fate."
Peppy soon pulled away, smiling weakly. She pulled out her cell-phone, weakly holding it up.
"I e-even already filled out the E-form! S-see?"
Name: Peppy Ronei
Gender: F
Age: 19
Species: Fennekin
Type: Fire
Height: 1'02".
Weight: 29 lbs.
If you have any medical conditions, list them here:
Do you have an active sex-life?: No!
Do you have a history with drugs? If so, elaborate:
Do you have a criminal record? If so, elaborate: Tax evasion
Dietary requirements/preferences: Pizza!
Move skill-set: Material Fire (Comfortable)
Abilities: Blaze
As Snute stood with her head lowered, she could not contain her disgust. As Aundei and Peppy delightedly conversed with numerous others, the ninetales peeked over with a leer.
"Look at that coward," Snute brooded. "I saw the terror in her eyes when I spoke. I can't let this pathetic specimen slow me down. I have to find a way to rid myself of her."
Team Stop Calling Me That stood within a significantly large crowd atop the SS Cryogonal, the sunset sky painted with brilliant streaks of fire as a cool chill set into the air. The entirety of the ship's deck was illuminated by bright lamps, capturing the numerous pokémon in their warm glow.
Snute briefly found her attention focused on Inu and Yuku running for their lives as Kysen and Yuja pursued them. Her focus was then diverted as the crowd of explorers began to hush up, Guildmaster Vanilluxe stepping onto an elevated stage. Their raichu assistant followed quickly, huffing with the effort of running up the stairs.
Lefty leaned into the microphone with a bright grin.
"Good evening, friends! How are you all doing, this fine night?" They paused to let the mass of pokémon roar with positive affirmation.
Snute's ears flattened against her head. She let out an involuntary whine.
Righty soon took Lefty's place of speaking into the mic.
"Good, good... I suppose we should skip right to the important part, yes?"
After another round of cheering from the explorers, the guildmaster stepped back to allow the raichu to step up to the mic. Timidly grasping it, they gave a forced smile, looking down to their notecard.
"Okay! So... Looks like our next destination is..." Everyone seemed to lean forward, tension building over the dramatic pause. "Yaoscr Town, in the Vast Wastes!"
As the crowd cheered once more, Aundei spoke with a hushed tone.
"Wow, guys! Isn't that great?!"
"Yes!" Peppy yipped. "I've always w-wanted to go there!"
Snute sighed, grumbling.
"Too hot..."
As the pokémon settled down once more, Lefty took the mic again.
"As for exploration business, eight new mystery dungeons have popped up, and there are rumors of an ancient city buried in the middle of the desert! And, for you more heroic types among us..." Righty raised an eyebrow as he caught an involuntary flinch from Snute twenty yards away, but soon resumed paying attention to Lefty's speech. "There's been a spike in organized crime! Mostly vandalism, but word on the grapevine says there's been a couple more serious tidbits. Those are all of the announcements for today; Enjoy the take-off party, everybody!"
Snute cried out in agony as the excited shouts of pokémon once more drowned out the air. The fireworks lit off shortly after did not help.
After freezing her ears flat to her head, the ninetales snuck out of the main crowd, rushing over to the balcony where she'd started the morning. All of the other pokémon looking over the railing seemed much quieter, thankfully.
Aundei pranced up to Snute a couple moments later, with Peppy reluctantly following behind.
The ninetales rested her chin on the railing, maintaining an annoyed grimace as she eyed the ground below. Beneath the setting sun, the vast landscape of buildings, trees, and rolling hills grew further in distance from her eyes. Admittedly, she felt a bit uneasy about flying.
What Snute could not deny, however, was that the view was amazing. She let her frown soften just a bit as she gazed over the scenic vista.
"One day, this will all be mine..." she mused. "It'll be a shame to destroy such beauty, but that is how things must go."
"S-S-S-Snute?" Peppy called with a shaky voice.
The ninetales turned to glower at the fennekin, baring her fangs.
"What?"
"Eep!" The fennekin trembled violently, tail drooping and ears flattening. Forcefully squeezing her eyes shut, she was able to squeak out a sentence. "It's... An h-honor to be on a t-team with you!"
Snorting, Snute turned away without another word. Peppy appeared relieved, if a bit dejected, though Aundei held a frown.
The glameow put a paw onto the ninetales' back. He felt her tense up, growling lowly.
"I don't know what makes you so cold," Aundei started, "but... No matter what it is, Silly, we'll be there to help you through it! We've got your back, okay?"
Snute sighed, slumping over the bar.
"Yeah, yeah. Go, team. Woohoo."
Aundei and Peppy both smiled, with the former leaping to cheer.
"Yay! That's the spirit, Silly!"
"We'll d-do great things!"
Snute felt like throwing up as she overlooked the ground below. Whether it was from vertigo, or her team's seemingly nauseating optimism, she could not tell.
As the three gazed into the distance, they each silently thought about their goals.
"Each day, I draw closer to the fruits of my painstaking labor. I'll finally make things right, sis. If only I could have a sign..."
"I'll become strong! I'll prove all who've doubted me wrong, and I'll spread the joy of delightful cuisine to everyone! Perhaps, together, we can even avenge all of our fallen friends... Are you proud of me, mama? I'm finally going to make a difference, just as you said I would!"
"Alena, Dot, Gapher, Folly! I'll keep bringing hope and justice into the world, just as we promised all those years ago! If you're all listening, up there, then please give us your blessing!"
The three both jumped in surprise, startled as a bright light caught their eye. A shooting star fell from the heavens in the distance, before bursting into a brilliant shower of sparkles.
Peppy, Snute, and Aundei looked around after the stunning sight had vanished. None of the other pokémon seemed to have noticed, having already taken their eyes off from the sky by that point to converse and play.
The three felt a surge of hope swell in their souls that they hadn't known in ages. They felt unstoppable. Unbeknownst to them, five other pokémon had shared in the experience.